Haunted by the Dead
by lunartic404
Summary: Queen Selene has risen to the throne. Levana is gone, but the horrors of her reign are not. Levana remains in spirit to haunt them all. Letumosis, the deadly plague, still sweeps the Earth, and even some parts of Luna. Those who are still loyal to Levana call for Selene's blood. The queen and her friends are still in danger, and Levana's behind it all.
1. Chapter 1

**[I do not own The Lunar Chronicles, credits to Marissa Meyer for her awesome series :) It might take a while to update my stories but I will. KAINDER FOREVER!]**

 _Midnight tomorrow, RM-17. Bring no one._

Cinder groaned as red text scrolled across her vision. She blinked away the notification and shook her head. She had been receiving that comm for three weeks. But being the Queen of Luna, she didn't have time to block the sender.

She turned back to her paperwork. Starlight flooded through the windows, illuminating the black ink. She rested her chin on her metal hand. The time on her portscreen blinked up at her - _2:36 AM._ She knew she should be getting some sleep.

Sighing, Cinder shoved the papers to the side. Her desk was as disorganized as her booth had been when she was a mechanic in New Beijing. Papers and notepads were stashed in piles, pens spread across the wooden desktop. Paperclips were littered, unused, below the heaps of paper. A portscreen and a few wires lay tangled at the corner of her desk. She made a mental note to organize the mess when she had time.

Cinder switched off the holographic lamp and the light faded. She rolled her chair to the bed and crumpled on the velvet sheets. Her heavy eyelids closed immediately. She couldn't remember the last time she had a full night's sleep.

Suddenly, a message appeared again. Cinder began to clear the text from her vision, grumbling in annoyance. But her eyes caught two words -

 _...your father..._

Cinder gasped. Her eyes snapped open and she lay, staring at the ceiling.

Queen Channary was famous for her many affairs. No one knew who her father was.

She brought the comm back into her vision.

 _I am a regolith miner in RM-17, and I am your father. Eighteen years ago, your mother, Queen Channary, began visiting me in my sector. That is where she caught the cough that killed her. I am your father, and I want to see my daughter with my own eyes. Please._

Cinder frowned. She couldn't help feeling that there was something strange about this, even though she had lifted the ban on portscreens, cameras, and other picture-taking electronics when she rose to the throne, and passed new laws to ensure that Lunars in the outer sectors had enough money to provide for their own needs. Some even had surplus income, allowing them to buy electronics and clothing and whatever else they desired.

Cinder ushered the comm away and closed her eyes. She really needed sleep. She could probably count the amount of hours she had slept during the past week on no more than two hands. She knew that dissolving the Lunar monarchy into a republic was no easy task, and she needed as much energy as she could get.

And then, the comm popped up again.

 _Midnight tomorrow, RM-17. Bring no one._

Cinder turned off her net interface, growing annoyed at the comms. She shut her synthetic eyes and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**[Sorry guys - I know nothing about politics so if I get something wrong please tell me and I will fix it! Thanks!]**

Cinder smiled and sank back into her seat. She had achieved her goal - finishing the paperwork required to start electing governors for each sector. She wasn't going to suddenly take away the monarchy - that would be too big of a change for the Lunars, and she'd changed a lot during the past few months. It would take about a year to fully change into a republic.

Garan's device, now known as the Bioelectric Shield, was rapidly selling. Iko had informed her that Adri and Pearl were now living in a mansion near New Beijing Palace, being showered with fame and fortune. Adri still held a grudge against her, but Pearl sent her comms occasionally. At first, it was probably because she desired more fame than she already had, but then they started talking of their sister, Peony. Now, they didn't loath each other quite as much.

She would see them at the ball, too. The Annual Peace Ball was in a week, and she was leaving for Earth tomorrow. She couldn't wait to see Kai again, she hadn't seen him in person since he left Luna after her coronation.

Cinder was startled from her thoughts as she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called, assuming it was Iko. But she wasn't greeted by a tall girl with bronze skin and blue, braided hair, but rather a small, timid palace servant.

"Your Majesty, there is a man waiting outside. He says he's looking for you."

"Is he delivering a message?" Cinder asked, wondering who this man might be. She remembered the comm from last night. But he was in RM-17 when he'd sent the comm, a sector quite far from Artemesia.

"No, Your Majesty. He says he wants to see you in person." The servant tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing a thick, beaded necklace, shimmering with sapphire.

 _That's strange,_ Cinder thought. Servants didn't normally own jewelry.

"Do you know who he is?"

"No, My Queen."

"Can you please confirm his identity? I won't see him until I know who he is."

"Yes, My Queen." The servant hurried off before Cinder could thank her.

Cinder headed toward the window, curious to see who this mystery man was. Her windows faced the front of Artemesia Palace. She glanced outside but saw no people. Only the reflections of the stars shimmering in the lake.

She noticed her reflection in the glass and smiled at herself. Her reflection reminded her that she wasn't like her aunt, the tyrannical Queen Levana. She wasn't Selene, either.

She was nothing but a cyborg, but the thought comforted her. She wasn't special or important. She never wanted to be.

Cinder suddenly gasped and stumbled backwards. She tripped and collapsed on the ground. Guards immediately came rushing in. "Your Majesty! Are you - "

"Get away from me!" Cinder stumbled across the room. She returned to the window and squinted once again at her reflection, her bionic fingers brushing across her throat.

Bruise-like spots dotted her neck.

Cinder's breaths turned shallow, as if the person peering at her in the window was a different person, someone who could spread the disease to her.

Letumosis.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this is short - Hopefully I will be able to update again soon!**

* * *

"Guards, check yourselves for any sign of the disease," Cinder gasped, covering her mouth. Her gaze darted to the corner of her vision, where her retina display flashed on her synthetic eye. She searched for the window that displayed her comms, and cursed when she remembered she had her comm link turned off last night. 2.16 valuable seconds were wasted reactivating it. A headache stabbed at her temple, and she was beginning to feel dizzy.

 _Send an android to the servants' quarters with a letumosis antidote and tell her to deliver it to a girl with a blue necklace. And come to my chambers with four antidotes immediately._

She sent the comm to Iko, knowing the android could not catch the plague. Cinder glanced up at her guards. All three of them were infected.

Cinder saw blue spots creeping up her arms. Her vision blurred. Her stomach hurt. She couldn't breathe.

"How is that possible?" Cinder murmured. According to her internal clock, it had only been 6 minutes and 58 seconds since she was infected.

This plague mutation acted much, much faster than the ones she had sen before.

"Cinder!" A voice screamed. She registered a tall, tan girl with electric blue braids running to her side as she collapsed, her consciousness fading.


End file.
